As in-person events return to the business world and virtual events remain popular, vendors are finding it more difficult to stand out in the crowd than ever before. Attendees are no longer looking for the all-too-common, customized pens and water bottles. Instead, vendors need to think outside of the box and get creative to attract attention on a saturated show floor.

Once you find that attention-grabbing tactic, and you get an attendee’s attention, you probably have a plethora of things you’d like them to do or discuss with you while there. And, if that person happens to be a customer, asking for a review should be one of them. But, how can you convince them to leave you a quality review when time is limited and they’re in a hurry?

TrustRadius offers on-site event review generation support for B2B technology providers. In 2022, we helped vendors capture authentic written and video reviews from customers at:

• SAPTechEd and SAP SuccessConnect
• Apptio TBM Conference 22
• Sage Transform 22
• Adobe Learning Summit 

Because reviews are crucial during the buyer’s journey, we want to share our findings from generating thousands of reviews for different vendors at events. We’re sharing the Top 5 Tips for Maximizing Event Review Generation—both virtual and in-person.

1. Get creative with incentivizing reviews.

Incentivized reviews help B2B companies find more truthful reviews that show the pros and cons of a product. Buyers get the whole picture, can find specific use cases that are similar to their own needs, and make a more-informed decision.

Besides, who doesn’t love to be shown appreciation for sharing their opinion and helping like-minded peers make an informed purchase decision? Getting creative with your incentive shows attendees you’ve put thought into your gift back to them, and are not going with the easy-to-find, common options. Branded teddy bears and other stuffed animals, for instance, have done WONDERS for generating reviews at an event. Why? We’ve learned it’s an easy souvenir for the kids of parent’s out of town on a work trip but also provides sentimental value.

 “The more unique the item, the more coveted the review is going to be.” Camara McClellan, Project Manager – Review Generation, TrustRadius

2. Don’t shy away from video reviews.

People don’t usually have 20 minutes to sit down and write a review, though having that option available is always a good idea. Offering them the option of talking through their review on camera for 5-10 minutes can be much more appealing for the busy visitor and take significantly less time—allowing you to collect more reviews. One tip is to treat it like a mini interview, where you ask them to repeat the question in their answer. 

And because we can talk faster than we write, video reviews allow your customers to say a lot more than they would when writing it down. In those short 5-10 minutes, you can get about 600 words of review, which can be used as one video clip, or many. At Apptio, we helped a vendor get up to 1,300-word video reviews. Buyers can not only hear what customers are saying, but see how excited they are about your product in their body language. 

Bonus—the beauty with TrustRadius helping you obtain video reviews at an event is we transcribe it after the fact and publish it as a written review. The frequency, relevancy, and customer sentiment in your reviews makes you more eligible for technology awards!

3. Generate reviews before, during, AND after.

Generating reviews shouldn’t be isolated to the physical event. You can place review requests on a variety of deliverables before, during, and after the event. 

This isn’t a full list, but some ideas of places you can ask for reviews are:

• Event invites and marketing—Social media and other marketing channels, whether organic or paid, is a great place to let your audience know where you’ll be, when, and ask them to leave you a video or written review.
• Postcards or business cards—Don’t be afraid to add a small QR code that links people to your review form.
• With your giveaways—Including a business card, or tag with the request or QR code can go a long way as well.
• At the end of your sessions—If your company is speaking or leading a small session, ask for a review at the end of the discussion.
• In-app push notifications or at your booth—If your event has an associated app, use push notifications to let attendees know where to find you, and what swag they’ll receive. Once they get to your booth, personally ask them for a review.
• In pre- and post-event emails—Generate excitement for the event, and ride on the hype for the event with pre- and post-emails. Include a review request in all of them.

4. Source reviews in high-traffic areas of the event.

Make sure your review generation booth or location is in a high-traffic area of the event. Getting 5-10% of customers to leave a review at a 2,000+ person event isn’t going to happen if nobody can find you. 

If your booth isn’t in the greatest location, heading out to the high-traffic areas of the trade show floor and interacting with attendees is going to help. You can let them know about your incentivized reviews, and have business cards on-hand with a QR code or written-out review request. We’ve found that business cards work well because they’re small, easy to transport, and more likely to be taken home to act on later.

5. On-site event review generation support

TrustRadius’ on-site support can be done in video-only, written-only, or a hybrid approach. As mentioned above, generally, video reviews get you more quality reviews as customers can dive deeper in a shorter time period, while written reviews allow for a higher quantity. 

When a hybrid approach is taken, vendors are able to get both quality and quantity reviews. And, when TrustRadius is there to support you, you can focus on forging stronger relationships with attendees, while we focus on recording reviews and formatting them into usable and shareable content that you can use across your marketing channels.

How will you maximize your time and effort at your next event?

Now that you know the Top 5 Tips for Maximizing Event Review Generation at virtual and in-person events, how will you use them? Are you going to mix all of them together and stick with just these five, or are you going to add your own as well? 

If you’d like to learn more about how you can get quality reviews at events, schedule a call. We offer in-person, virtual, and hybrid event review generation packages with do-it-yourself and on-site assistance options.